Extended Family
by avengerteam
Summary: Katie was being attacked in an alley. Rescued, she was taken to Stark towers, where she meets all the Avengers. They learn about her life and her dreams - and they become the family she never had.
1. Chapter 1

She was going to die in a dark alley and nobody would know what had happened.

Katie stood frozen as the man with the knife moved around her, tickling her throat with the tip of the blade with just enough pressure to cut into her neck. The thin line of blood was sliding down onto her collar, which only made her more angry because when she got dressed that morning, she hadn't expected that her nice shirt would be ruined.

The masked face leered at her in the darkness of the narrow alley. "Now you'll wish you gave me what I wanted before I had to pull the knife." His voice, made of oil and false sugar, slid around her, undressing her with his words as he moved to do the same with his hands.

He was taller than her, towering over all five feet, eight inches of shaking high school senior before him. She had made him angry. When she was walking to New York Public school that morning, she had been unceremoniously yanked into the alley and slammed against the filthy wall. The ski mask was swollen under his left eye where she had punched him when he had demanded her wallet, phone, and laptop and there was a small tear above his ear from when she tried to pull off the mask. The knife had come out, the wallet had gone into his pocket; her old flip phone down a sewer grate and her second-hand computer had been hit against the wall and then thrown into a garbage can that, from the smell, contained either human excrement or dead animals.

_Please. _Katie screamed in her head. _Please. Someone. _She didn't dare voice the words; the knife was still waiting at her throat as he ripped her shirt partly open, tearing off the shoulder. _He's going to rape me and murder me._ She was shaking, trembling like a small animal in the cold. Her eyes shut, she tried to push the man off her, but received only a deep cut in the muscle of her shoulder in response. She waited for the inevitable.

Nothing happened.

"Excuse me." A friendly voice spoke; Katie cracked her eyes open and found the speaker. A man had approached them, freezing her captor in his place. The man must have looked directly into the alley from the street and wanted to see what the dark shadowy figures were doing there instead of walking on.

He was about her height, with tanned skin and wavy dark hair, bordering on curly and streaked with grey. His eyes were kind, dark brown and weighted with knowledge and pain and concern, shining through a pair of round glasses that reflected the dim alley light. She would have put his age near fifty, but it was hard to tell "I couldn't help but see that your friend there doesn't seem to want to be with you." The new man addressed her attacker. A line of steel entered his voice, although he appeared as amiable as ever, casually leaning against the dirty brick wall. "Perhaps you should consider letting her go."

Katie's captor shifted his position, grabbing her hair with one hand and retracing the cut on her throat with the knife, reopening the wound and deepening it. She attempted to kick him in the groin, but he seemed to see it coming and shifted his body weight around so she missed.

"Sir." The man fiddled with his watch, seemingly unconsciously. "This is your last chance. Let the girl go, or I might get very angry."

The thug smirked through the hole in the ski mask. "You're going to get angry?" He mimicked the gentle voice in a mocking tone. "_This is your last chance, Sir. Perhaps you should let her go."_ He grinned, teeth showing like a feral animal. "You're going to attack me? You and what army?" Laughing deep and cold, the knife settled closer to her throat again as he wrenched her around to face the newcomer better, reopening the wound in her shoulder. She gasped and he slapped her, cutting her cheek with the hilt of the knife and leaving a stinging hand print. "Angry yet, little man?" he taunted.

The man stood his ground. "No, but he is." And with that, Ironman dropped out of the sky and raised one arm, shooting a dart from the plated alloy that dropped Katie's captor to the ground.

The sudden lack of weight on her body was disorienting; Katie felt herself sway and half fell, half crouched against the filthy wall for support. She was still shaking (_shock_, the part of her mind that was still working diagnosed) and blood was leaking from the cuts on her cheek, shoulder, and neck. A pair of hands touched her back and she flinched; they pulled away, then returned gently, rubbing a small circle between her shoulder blades and she tensed again.

"Always with you and the back alleys, Bruce. Here I thought Steve was the only one who actively sought out fights." Ironman's voice was almost human, underlined with a slight metallic tone.

"Shut up, Tony. She's probably in shock; we should take her to a hospital." The hands slowly moved towards her shoulder, feeling the wet blood soaking what was left of her sleeve.

"No." Katie's voice sounded creaky, her throat tight. "Don't take me to a hospital. Don't take me there." Very much against her will, her throat caught and broke.

"You need help, Kiddo." Ironman's voice said. She violently shook her head, throwing the man's – Bruce's – hands off again.

"Don't take me to a hospital," Katie repeated. She hated them, always would. Her once-broken hand tingled at the very thought.

There was a sigh. A whispered conversation began, and Katie only caught half of it: "...needs help... shock, and the cuts. … Tower?... Okay, I'll wait."

A cloud of dust caught in Katie's throat, forcing her to cough. She leaned back against the wall, but was too confused to push Bruce's hand off her shoulder. "It's going to be okay, Sweetheart. Tony's gone to get a car, he'll be back in a moment. We're only half a block away from Stark Tower. You picked a good place to get mugged." Katie could hear the small smile in his voice. "Can you stand up?"

She nodded, then shook her head. "I don't know," she managed, her voice shaking and no more than a whisper.

"Okay, then." Bruce's voice stayed soft; why wasn't he mad at her? "We'll just wait."

"I'm sorry." Katie turned her head further away from his, the kind eyes trying to trap her in place. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what? It's okay, I didn't have anything to do today."

"It's my fault."

"Nothing's your fault, Sweetheart." Bruce knelt next to her. "Can you tell me your name?"

She nodded. "Katie."

"Nice to meet you, Katie. I'm Bruce Banner." He held out a hand and after a moment of hesitation, she took it. "Tony's here, so let's see if we can get you on your feet and to the car." She nodded and pushed with her legs, Bruce helping with a hand on her good elbow. Katie was mildly surprised to see the black sports car that was waiting at the end of the alley, but not too much- this was Tony Stark, after all.

"This yours?" A voice interrupted her thoughts; the man himself. She looked to see what he was talking about. Her backpack was on the ground, one strap cut clean through, her papers and all her music spilling out onto the dirty alley ground. She nodded and couldn't help casting a mournful look towards the trash can that held what was left of her laptop and the sewer grate where her phone was.

"My wallet..." Katie turned towards the still-unconscious thug on the ground. She wasn't sure if it was worth touching the man again just to get it back, but it had things in it she needed.

"I'll get it." Mr. Stark quickly volunteered, surprising her again. He was none to gentle as he flipped the man over and rifled through his pockets, holding up her wallet for her confirmation before zip-tying the thug to the dumpster behind them. "I called a friend at the police station; they'll be here to pick him up in half an hour or so. Plenty of time for him to wake up and panic."

Katie nodded; how else could she respond? Bruce (_Mr Banner, _she chided herself) tugged gently on her elbow again and she let herself be carefully led into the fancy car. Mr Stark got into the front seat; Mr Banner got into the back with her. "Next stop, Stark Tower."

**Here's my new story! I've started fleshing out backstory for Katie and have a few plans for how she'll fit in with the Avengers, but I will always take comments, suggestions, and ideas, and usually they will end up in the story in some form or another.**


	2. Chapter 2

The car pulled into an underground parking garage. Much to Katie's surprise, most of the cars were not sports cars but a variety of models, from an ancient-looking racing car to the slick silver Audi in the corner. As they slowed to a stop, she winced; event the smooth ride of their current vehicle wasn't doing wonders for her shoulder or any bruises.

Mr Banner came around and opened the door for her, guiding her out by her elbow and directing her into a sleek elevator set in the wall. Mr Stark followed them and spoke, apparently into thin air. "Assemble floor, JARVIS."

There was no reply, but the elevator started moving, flying upwards through the tall building. Only a minute later, the doors dinged and the trio stepped out onto a room so extravagant, Katie felt awkward simply standing in the doorway. She had never seen so much splendor in her life.

While she was staring, Mr Stark had left and returned, carrying a white terry cloth bathrobe and a pair of sweatpants. "Why don't you change into these and then Bruce can look at your shoulder?" Katie swallowed her embarrassment – here she was, a seventeen year old, with two superheroes who were clearly concerned about her. She flushed and nodded. Tony led her down the hallway, opening a door into an opulent bathroom and setting the clothing down on the counter. "Just come back when you're ready."

The door clicked reassuringly behind him as he left and Katie began to change, trying not to move her arm and get blood all over anything as she peeled her blackened blouse from her shoulder. She folded the shirt on the counter, along with her jeans and her shoes, and slid on the sweats and the robe over her bra and tank top. Really, it would have been nice to take off the tank since it was crusted with blood too, but the thought of going back into the room with two men she didn't know – even if they were Avengers – was too intimidating without another layer.

Katie looked in the mirror. Her dark curls were a mess, frizzy and tangled from her alleyway encounter. Her thin face was white and bloodless and still smeared with dirt and blood. The bruise on her cheekbone was beginning to turn purple. Blue eyes looked back at her, scared and mistrustful. The line of blood on her throat seemed to stand out like a like of marker. Taking a washcloth, Katie tried to clean up her face a little before giving it up as a lost cause until she could shower.

She hesitated and opened the door. Back in the open living area where she came in, Mr Banner and Mr Stark had set up a mini-medical station, with nearly a dozen packages of bandages, antiseptic creams and needles. Mr Stark himself was just coming in with a large bowl of hot water and a few sterile cloths. Swallowing hard, Katie moved into the room and sat on the very edge of the cream-colored couch, as far away from Mr Banner as possible.

"He's not going to bite, kid. Get a little closer." Mr Stark's voice made her jump; she hadn't been expecting it. She edged further down the couch until Mr Banner was in arm's reach.

"How do you want to do this, Doc?" Tony leaned over the couch, close enough that Katie leaned back.

"I thought that we'd start with her throat, since that's the most likely to get infected. Then the shoulder, then the cheek." Bruce looked to Katie for approval. She didn't give it.

"You're a doctor?"

Bruce smiled benevolently at her."Is there a problem?" Without waiting for an answer, he turned to Mr Stark. "Tony, can you go get us some ice? We'll want it for the cheek, and any other bruises Miss Katie has." Tony looked like he knew he was being dismissed but did it without complaint.

"No, Miss Katie. I'm not a doctor. Not that kind, anyway. I do have a doctorate in physics, but I'm not a medical doctor. But I've lived in third world countries for years and had some practical training, so I could stand in for a medic in a pinch. Since you clearly don't want to visit a hospital."

"Okay." Katie cleared her throat, which hurt where the knife had cut her. "Okay. Go ahead. I just... don't like doctors." Mr – Dr – Banner nodded.

"Bad experience?" He carefully reached towards her and put a hand on her shoulder.

Katie flinched. She immediately felt bad, because he removed his hand and looked concerned but she couldn't help it. It had been years, but at the same time it had only been hours, and she still couldn't let people touch her without permission. But... maybe if she was going to trust anyone, she could trust these two.

"Throat first?" she asked, trying to cover her movement. Bruce studied her face for a moment, then nodded. Tearing open a cloth, he soaked it in the water and wrung it out, carefully beginning to clear away the dried blood. Katie sat like a statue. It's okay, they're okay, you're okay. She repeated this like a prayer until he was done, a thin, almost perfectly skin colored bandage covering the long line on her neck.

Without being asked, she used her good arm to pull off the top of the robe, letting it puddle on her lap, so Dr Banner could work on her shoulder. When she looked down, the fading patterns of bruises were visible on her bony arms and she smacked herself mentally for taking off so much clothing. She silently accepted an ice pack from Mr Stark, who was looking at her with a combination of concern and curiosity, and held it to her cheek.

"Do you want us to call someone? Tell them where you are?" Mr Stark asked suddenly, breaking the fragile silence that had settled over the room.

"No." Katie startled even herself with the harshness of her respond. "I- no."

"Are you sure?" he prodded. "It could help to have someone here you know."

Katie nodded assent at Dr Banner, who wanted to give her a shot to numb her shoulder – she was going to need a few stitches. She turned back to Mr Stark.

"Go ahead and try. I wish you luck." She rattled off her home phone, trying to tamp down the bitterness in her voice. Much to her surprise, rather than using a cell phone or a handset, Mr Stark simply waited and a phone began ringing.

"Do you want a drink or something? Coffee? Tea? Hot Chocolate?" Mr Stark asked over the ringing of the phone.

"Tony, one thing at a time." Dr Banner chided. He wrapped her shoulder in a thick gauze and switched back to the washcloths to begin working on her cheek.

"A bottle of water would be nice, Mr Stark." He flashed a smug grin at Dr Banner as he handed Katie a bottle of water, then took it back and opened it for her. Bruce opened his mouth to retort, but then there was a click and someone picked up the still-ringing phone.

"'ello." A drunken drawl answered the phone, a man's voice. Katie's eyes flew to her lap. One of her mother's boyfriends.

Tony didn't seem to notice the slur from too much alcohol. "May I please speak to the guardian of Miss Katie...?" Bruce tried to tip her chin up gently, to finish her cheek, but Katie carefully moved away and back into the corner of the sofa, wrapping her arms around her knees.

A new voice was on the line. "What do you want? Are you from the school? What's she done now, the little bastard girl, the little..." the woman carried on. Katie sunk further into the sofa.

Mr Stark cut into her rant, his voice having acquired a distinctly icy edge. "It's not anything she's done, Ma'am. I am calling to inform you that Miss Katie will be spending the day at Stark Industries. I don't care if you approve or not." With that, Mr Stark made a cutting motion, and the call ended.

Katie could feel both adults boring holes in her head. "Sorry. I shouldn't have let you call... sorry."

There was a moment of silence. "I should go."

"Go where?" Dr Banner asked gently. Katie raised and lowered her uninjured shoulder in a shrug.

"You're not going anywhere, kid. I told your mom you were spending the day at Stark Industries. Are you trying to make a liar of me?"

"No! Mr Stark, I just, I can't stay here, she'll be mad, and she'll... or she'll ask him and... I should be at school, don't take me... I should go, I'm sorry."

"Whoa, easy there, Katie. It was just a joke. Take a few deep breaths. At least stay and clean up and change. We can't let you walk around the city with just a pair of sweatpants and a bathrobe. It is almost October." The famous billionaire looked serious.

Dr Banner tilted her chin up to look at them. "Besides, you should meet Pepper. She'll want to know where we were this morning."

Katie had no idea who Pepper was, but the idea of a shower was stronger than her fear of her mother and her boyfriends. She nodded assent.

"Excellent!" Mr Stark jumped up, looking like a five year old who had been promised ice cream. "I'll show you a room you can clean up in. It's only ten in the morning, we probably won't eat for a few hours. Feel free to look around or whatever." Mr Stark led her down the hall, stopping a few doors down from the bathroom she had changed in earlier. Dr Banner came over with her pile of clothing from the bathroom, along with a clean T-shirt that was about her size that read "Stark Industries" across the front.

They were being so nice to her, Katie almost couldn't stand it. "Thank you. I'm sorry for the trouble, Mr Stark."

He waved her away with an air of nonchalance. "Don't worry about it kid. Stop apologizing. And call me Tony." She opened her mouth to either protest the informality or apologize for apologizing, but he pointed at her with an eyebrow raised and she closed it again, feeling a faint smile touch her lips.

Dr Banner stepped in. "All the bandages are waterproof, but there are more in the cabinet if you need them. And please, call me Bruce."

"You could call him Jolly Gre – " Tony was cut off as Bruce elbowed him in the ribs.

"Just ask if you need anything, Katie." She nodded and slipped into the bathroom. She missed the looks exchanged by the two perceptive superheroes as she closed the door.

"There's definitely something fishy going on here." Tony collapsed on the sofa where Katie had been sitting earlier. "She's clearly terrified of her mother, or whoever that was, and the guy. She doesn't like being touched much, but was okay with lashing out and hitting – or trying to hit – the guy attacking her in the alley."

Bruce nodded agreement. "She's got faded bruises and she's much skinnier than any girl around her age has any right to be. She hates hospitals and apparently doesn't trust doctors much." They sat in silence for a moment. Then Bruce sighed. "I don't know Tony. You know as well as I do that even if there is something wrong with her home life, we can't fix it. Even if we could get her removed from her house, she'll get sent into the foster system. We can't do that to her."

Tony's jaw muscles worked. "Fine. But we can keep an eye on her."

It wasn't really a question, but Bruce agreed anyway. "And in the meantime, give her a good afternoon and a ride home out of the cold."

**Taadaa! Here's chapter 2! Tell me if you like it; five+ reviews means the next chapter will definitely be posted within a week!**


	3. Chapter 3

**REVIEWS! You are all my favorites. So here's chapter three, just for you.**

They did have a good afternoon. Pepper joined them for lunch and while still quiet, Katie was much more willing to talk to the CEO. Bruce, Tony, and Pepper learned that Katie was seventeen, her last name was Wolfe, and she was a senior at one of the many New York Public High Schools.

"What are you going to do next year?" Pepper asked when lunch was over. Katie had shyly asked for a tour of the tower and Tony had smilingly agreed, leading the way and trying overtly to make the quiet, gun-shy teenager laugh.

Katie shifted in response to the question. "College, if I can afford it." The last part came out in a mumble and Pepper took note but didn't comment. The teenager looked up nervously. "I've applied to Julliard... but I don't know yet."

"Music?" It wasn't really a question – Julliard was a famous music school after all. Katie nodded.

"I had two years in a pre-military school, my sophomore and junior years." She hesitated. "I got a pilot's license."

Tony stopped short. "You can fly?"

"I really liked it, but... I think music will be better, even though it... doesn't have a lot of income." She looked at her shoes again. Katie hated talking about money. So she changed the topic.

"So you're... an employee of the company? A Research and Development partner for the Avengers?" She looked at Bruce.

He laughed. "I guess you could say I'm the Avenger's leading gamma radiation expert on missions," he said, smiling. "I should reintroduce myself." He took a deep breath – most people didn't know he was the Hulk, since it wasn't very widely publicized, but once they found out they usually treated him differently. Silently, Bruce said goodbye to the casual, if slightly shy, way the young girl treated him.

He held out a hand, a silent test. "Dr Bruce Banner, also known as the Hulk." Katie stared at him for a moment, as if judging the truthfulness of the statement, then carefully put her hand in his and shook it timidly. Bruce was watching her face and did a little happy dance; he was sure the hesitation was more for the fact that people made her skittish than the fact that he had a monster inside him that could destroy them all.

"You're not particularly tall for a guy who turns into a huge muscle man." She quipped lightly. All three adults were so surprised by the joke that they stopped walking and Katie almost ran into Tony.

"Sorry! I wasn't... I didn't..." She stammered, her chin dropping again.

"It's my fault, Kid. I shouldn't have stopped so suddenly." Tony steadied her elbow. "Did you know that when you smile, you could probably light up the city?" Katie turned pink and ducked her head, but not before sending a small smile in Tony's direction. After she turned around, Pepper tucked her arm into Tony's and gave him a small kiss on the cheek, her eyes shining with gratitude at Tony's kindness.

Bruce managed to convince Katie to stay for dinner as well. As the day wore on, the teenager had gotten more and more skittish, and it hadn't been hard for the adults to guess why. They were getting closer to taking her home.

Dinner was New York deep dish pizza. The adults watched silently as Katie stuffed herself. It was if she hadn't eaten in days and had never had anything that good before.

Then the time came. Tony didn't know how to say it, but Pepper did. "Tony and Bruce are going to give you a ride home, Sweetheart." Katie stiffened slightly, but all the adults saw it. Pepper came around the table and much to Katie's surprise, gave the bony teenager a hug. When Pepper released her, she stepped back. "The door is always open. Night or day, whenever. Any time, okay?"

Tony nodded. "Even if the other Avengers are here, don't worry about it. We'll save the room for you where you changed earlier."

Katie was about three seconds away from crying. She barely knew then, any of them. They had rescued her from getting killed in an alleyway. And now they had opened their very fancy, very famous home to her.

Bruce scooped up a backpack and the trio headed for the elevator. Pepper waved as the doors closed behind them. Bruce handed her the bag. "Here's this, don't forget."

Katie looked at it curiously. "This isn't my bag," she protested quietly. It was a thicker material, matte black and a lot cooler than her bag. Besides, her backpack had one of the straps sliced in half by a madman with a knife.

"It is now," Tony simply said. "We couldn't send you off with a broken backpack. It would be so awkward to carry to school. We just shifted all your stuff over. No sentimental connection, I hope." Katie shook her head and shifted, thinking of her laptop and phone, which were now ruined and in the garbage. It had taken her forever to save enough money to buy them and now she was back to square one. She didn't say anything out loud, but if she had looked up, she would have seen the small smiles on Tony and Bruce's faces.

They slid into the same black car Tony had picked her and Bruce off the street with earlier. Again, Bruce sat in the back with her while Tony drove. Katie had given Tony her address in a quiet voice. When they were only a few blocks from the dingy apartment complex, Bruce leaned over. "I know Pepper and Tony said the door is open whenever, and it is, but I at least need you back here next week, say... Friday? After school ends for you? I need to take out the stitches in your shoulder." He handed her a bottle of medication. "This is just a pain medication. It shouldn't be too bad, but if you need it, take two every six or seven hours." Katie just nodded.

The car stopped. Katie got out and stood in front of the building. The air reeked of urine and alcohol and the area was poorly lit. "Thanks for... the lift." Tony and Bruce said brief good nights and waited while she mounted the steps to the building. She unlocked the door with a key hanging on a ribbon and slipped into the dark.

Two hours later, Katie was on her bed in the tiny room that was considered her own. It was really a closet, but her bed fit and most of the time her mother didn't bother walking down the hall to yell at her if she was in there. Katie had already withstood an hour and a half of screaming about Katie's absence from school, the call from Tony, and why she wasn't home for dinner with her darling mother and her boyfriend. Fortunately, her mother hadn't paid the full electric bill, so it was dark enough that her mother hadn't seen the new backpack that Katie carried.

Katie sighed. She unzipped the bag and began to sort through her music and check out the damage from the pages flying all over an alleyway. As soon as she cleared the top layer of music, though, she had to stuff her pillow under the door to make sure her mother wouldn't hear her.

Tony and Bruce had filled the bag.

Her broken laptop had been replaced with a Stark Industries laptop, a sleek computer only half a centimeter thick and infinitely lighter than her dinosaur. The top pocket held a new Starkphone, the background image set to a photo of Bruce and Tony wearing safety goggles that they must have taken in one of the labs that she had walked by that day. There were several new changes of clothing in the bottom of the bag; a blouse almost identical to the one lost in the alleyway attack that morning, a few pairs of jeans, a couple of nice shirts. Her wallet had a post-it note on it. It read simply: _open me._ Katie did as instructed and began crying in earnest. There was fifty dollars in cash, mostly fives. A new credit card, plain silver with the SI logo on one side and her name on the other was in one of the pockets. A folded piece of note paper was slid behind the card.

_Hey Kiddo,_

_Just in case you need something and can't make it to the Tower, this Stark Industries credit card is for you. Use it for whatever you like; don't worry about the balance. My phone number, Pepper's, and Bruce's are in the phone. Call or text us if you need to. _

_Don't forget to visit._

_Tony_

**Thanks for all the reviews last time, guys! There were several very good ideas that will probably make it into the story, somewhere! Keep reading and reviewing and have a good New Year!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello! Many thanks to all my lovely reviewers!**

None of them saw or heard from Katie until the next Friday, when she was supposed to get her stitches out. None of them said anything to each other, but no one acted surprised when 4 o'clock Friday rolled around and Katie didn't appear. Bruce and Tony sat in the common room, playing a game of chess on a carved wooden chessboard and not speaking.

The minutes ticked by, every second seeming to get longer. Tony finally stood. "I'm going to see if she's at her house."

Bruce was saved from answering him. JARVIS interrupted. "_Sir, the front desk would like to speak with you." _

Tony sighed and motioned for JARVIS to open the line.

"Mr Stark? There's a girl here..."

"Young? Brown curly hair, probably has a backpack?" Tony interrupted the voice.

"Yes, Sir. She says that she needs to see you." The secretary sounded doubtful. How many people had an invitation to see Mr Stark when he wasn't at work, after all? "I've already told her that you are a very busy man and can't be bothered, but she won't leave."

"Send her up, Jennifer. She's right and the invitation stands, so you had better remember her face so you can just let her come up next time, hmmm?" Tony bared his teeth in a shark-like grin at the phone.

"Yes, Sir."

AAAAAAA

Katie had argued with the secretary at Stark Industries for almost twenty minutes. She had also had to walk from school to the tower in the rain. Once she got there, Katie realized that she had no idea where to enter the building, since both her entrance and exit had been through the hidden garage where Tony kept his cars. Eventually, she had simply gone in the front door, only to realize that she was a wet, skinny, teenage mess and most of the people were wearing business suits and looking at her like she was a total lunatic.

Looking in the mirrored wall of the elevator, she sighed. Pulling her hair out of the sodden braid, she ruffled the wet strands with her fingers and combed a chunk over her black eye, trying to hide it from view. It was fresh, fresh enough that it was still swollen and an alarming shade of purple-blue. Her hastily-applied coat of makeup had smudged off and smeared in the rain, probably contributing to the looks she got from the lobby secretary.

The doors dinged and slid open onto the floor where Katie had been with Tony and Bruce and Pepper the previous week. Tony had called it the "Assemble" floor, if she remembered correctly. A shiver, mostly of awe and (if she admitted it) fear, ran down her spine. Of course, there were four other Avengers. She hadn't really forgotten them, but she hadn't really thought about it either; she was walking into the room where all six lived and worked, where the heroes who saved New York ate and slept. Even though she had been there before, it didn't make the idea any less intimidating.

"Katie! Glad you made it!" The exuberant voice of Tony Stark rang out, pulling her out of her contemplation of the famous people who stood where she was standing right now. She no doubt looking like the idiot she was, with a black eye and soaked clothing and a shoulder full of stitches. "Sorry about the secretary; remind me to scan your hand into the door before you leave so you can come in the garage."

The billionaire moved a dark knight on the chessboard next to him and then stood, walking over with a towel. "JARVIS said you were wet; caught without an umbrella?" He gestured out the window, where the cool, late September air was awash with sheets of rain. With one hand, he slid her backpack strap off her shoulder, setting it on the ground, swinging the towel over her shoulders.

"I don't have one," Katie said, looking down and fidgeting with the edges of the towel. "And sorry the secretary had to interrupt you."

Tony made a throw-away motion with his free hand. The other he used to carefully push back Katie's wet hair from her face, revealing the black eye he must have seen even through the hair. She flinched, but only a little. She should have know she couldn't hide it.

Surprisingly, Tony didn't comment. Bruce came over, greeting her with a small smile and a light touch on her arm. Katie wasn't sure why they all liked to touch so much – she had spent her entire life without casual contact, hugs, or parental hand-holding – and it felt alien, like she should respond to the movement but had no idea how. Perhaps her fear and confusion and cluelessness was evident, because Bruce kindly removed Tony's hand and directed her to the room where she had changed before, the one he said was hers to use, as strange as that was.

Katie stripped down to her (mercifully blood free, unlike to last time) tank top and reemerged from the room after toweling out her hair and pulling it back into the usual braid. Bruce was waiting on the couch. Handing her an ice pack, he got to work. It only took a few moments before all the stitches were gone, he was checking her throat and Tony was trying to convince her to stay for dinner.

"Who's JARVIS?" Katie asked when Bruce was done with her neck, both trying to buy time to tell Tony she couldn't cost him more money and time by making him feed her again, and because she actually wanted to know.

"JARVIS, you haven't introduced yourself yet? Shame on you!"

A small rush of static filled the room from countless speakers, almost a sigh. _"Hello, Miss Wolfe. I am JARVIS, a sentient Artificial Intelligence system. I run all of Sir's houses and try to keep him out of trouble as best I can." _The voice had a crisp British accent and sounded both exasperated and slightly amused.

"Erm... Nice to meet you, JARVIS." Katie responded. She switched her attention back to the grinning billionaire. "Mr Stark... Tony. Thanks, but I really can't stay for dinner, you've already given me enough and – "

He cut her off with another hand wave. "Don't worry about it, Kid. What's the point of having a lot of money if you can't feed a mysterious teenager every once in a while? Besides, Steve's cooking tonight, and you don't want to miss a 'Steve cooking' night."

Bruce took pity on her. "Steve is Captain America. Take the suit off, he's mild-mannered Steve Rogers. He's also the best cook out of all the Avengers. There'll be plenty of food; his metabolism runs about four times faster than most of ours, so he eats more than anyone except Thor."

Katie hesitated, which Tony took as approval. "Great! Let's go see if he needs help!"

**You guys are the best! Updates might come a little slower now - school restarted and I can't sit and write for an hour a day. Plus, I'm working on four (and a half) stories right now. **

**Speaking of which, it's 2015! Which means... _Back to the Future! _I love it and we have arrived at the future year, so I am posting the first of a series of one-shots today called Points in Time! **

**As always, read and review!**


	5. Chapter 5

The skinny teenager allowed herself to be verbally prodded down the hallway into the kitchen and connected dining room. She took a deep breath and tried to stop her hands from shaking. _Everything will be okay, _she told herself. But she almost gasped anyway when they went around the corner and into the large kitchen.

The tall superhero was hovering over a large pot of soup, adding ingredients and stirring occasionally. She was tall, for a teenage girl, but he had her beat by a good half a foot. Dark blonde hair and a chiseled jaw made his profile stand out, and when he turned to greet them, his eyes were the blue-grey of an arctic iceberg. He smiled, and his whole face lit up. "Tony! Bruce! Is this the dame – girl – I've been hearing so much about the last week?"

"Indeed it is, Cap. May I introduce Miss Katie Wolfe?" Tony grinned at her and gallantly bowed in her direction as he introduced the thin teenager. Katie turned pink as Steve took her hand and shook it respectfully, not commenting on her blackened eye.

"Ma'am. Nice to meet you; I've heard a lot."

She smiled, but it didn't completely remove the worry and slight fear in her eyes. "Nice to meet you too, Captain Rogers." Her voice shook a little at the end.

"Steve is fine, Katie. May I call you Katie?"

As Katie nodded, then looked down, she missed the look exchanged by the three men.

Tony piped up. "Well! Introductions have been made. Food has been made. Pepper should be here in five minutes or so. Steve, need a hand with anything else?"

"Plates, silverware, and food to the table, beverages all around." The soldier hurried back around the island and stirred his pot. "The soup will stay here; we'll bring the bowls over to fill individually, so it'll be easier," he decided.

"Right." Tony plucked a plate off the stack and threw it like Steve's shield at Bruce. The scientist caught it, laughing, but gave Tony a mildly disapproving look anyway. The billionaire let out an over-exaggerated sigh and scooped up the rest of the plates. Katie smiled, just a little.

"How about a hand with the soup while those two set?" Katie turned to see Steve smiling at her. She timidly walked to stand behind the counter and handed him the first bowl. He filled it and passed it back; she carried it to the table. They had filled three when JARVIS interrupted.

"_Sir, Miss Potts is on the way up. I also received a message that Agents Romanoff and Barton will be joining us in ten minutes, since they have finished their mission briefing."_

"How'd you get away so soon, Steve?" Bruce asked, while getting out two more bowls, plates, and sets of cutlery. "I thought you'd be there until they were?"

"I volunteered to have private briefing first and asked the Director for permission to leave to make dinner."

Tony laughed and Bruce and Katie both smiled at the thought. The elevator _dinged_ and Pepper came in. "Katie! Good to see you! How's the shoulder doing?" The CEO came over and gave her a hug; it was nearly as awkward as their parting hug the previous week, but the others pretended not to notice.

"Fine. Much better, actually. Bruce took out the stitches."

Pepper held her at arm's length, frowning as she inspected Katie's black eye. "Fall down the stairs? Get in a fight? Run into a door?" Katie dropped her head and wouldn't meet the CEO's eyes. "Get hit by a car? Attacked by a monkey?" Her eyes flicked up in confusion at the last comment. Pepper shrugged. "That happened to Tony, once. Except it only gave him a little bruise, on his cheekbone, not that you would have known from the way he carried on."

The present Avengers grinned and Tony pouted.

"Is that what happened to his face? I always thought he was naturally ugly." A new voice rang from behind them and Katie whirled. Too fast; her socked feet slid on the tile and she was falling... for about a second. Then Steve caught her arm and brought her to a stop. She flinched and wrenched her arm out of his grasp, backing away until she hit the cabinets. Pepper came over and stood near – not touching, but close.

"It's okay, Katie. He didn't mean to startle you, and Steve didn't mean anything, he just didn't want you to hit your head or anything." Pepper looked up, her eyes filled with a flash of sadness and confusion but trying to hide it. "Katie, I'd like you to meet Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff, aka Hawkeye and the Black Widow."

Katie hesitantly took a few steps forwards and shook hands carefully with a woman with short red hair and a man who had huge biceps and a distinctly bulldog-ish face. He smiled at her. "Nice to meet you, Katie. Sorry I startled you. How'd you end up here?"

"Someone tried to kill me in an alleyway." Katie took a few deep breaths. _Its going to be fine. None of the Avengers will hurt you. Its going to be okay._

"Wow. That's not an introduction you hear every day. Is that how you got the black eye?" Clint grinned. The woman – Natasha – elbowed him.

"Be nice, Clint. Nice to meet you, Katie."

"Nice to meet you too, Ms – Agent – Romanoff." Katie let Pepper guide her to the table as she accepted the Agent's request that, like the others, Katie should call her Natasha. They all began to eat, Katie quietly sitting and watching, pouring the soup down as fast as she could – she was starving. There wasn't any food in the house that morning, and her mother had denied that there was any the previous night, either. She never ate lunch, simply because she couldn't afford another meal.

"More soup, Katie?" She jolted out of her thoughts. Steve was standing at the end of the table, a few other bowls in his hands and stacked up one arm.

"I can have more?" she asked without thinking, then turned pink again. He nodded and took her empty bowl without asking again, sliding it back in front of her without further questions.

As she finished her second bowl, Katie looked around at the kitchen and dining room. It was similar to the more lounge area she had been in earlier; opulent to a fault, yet at the same time with a rather "family" feel to it. Her eyes skimmed the plants in the corner, the tasteful chairs around the table, the dark sky outside the floor-to-ceiling windows covering one wall – the dark sky. Katie sat bolt upright. "JARVIS, what time is it?"

"_It is currently 7:24 Miss Wolfe." _JARVIS' disembodied voice replied.

"Oh, God." Katie whispered. She stood, frantically looking around for her bag. "I need to go home, I'm going to be in so much trouble."

Tony waved her down. "I called your house and left a message saying you're spending the night. It is Friday, after all." He let that sink in for a moment. "Course, you can still go if you want, but feel free to stay."

"Are... are you sure? She never lets me..." Katie trailed off, running a few fingers gently over the bruising around her eye.

"Totally sure." Katie looked down and nodded, her breath catching.

"Thank you." There is quiet for a moment, until Steve stood and made another round for soup bowls.

Two and a half hours later, Katie, Pepper, and five-sixths of the Avengers were sprawled around the living room on various couches, chairs and pillows, watching Clint and Tony argue about which of the Lord of the Rings movies was the best. They had just finished _The Fellowship of the Ring_.

"Okay, you two, knock it off." Pepper looked more amused than annoyed. She stood and stretched. "I declare girl's night." She looked at Natasha and, to her surprise, Katie.

"Girl's night?" Katie asked, watching the Black Widow stretch like a cat.

"Yeah, come on." The assassin replied. " 'night, gentlemen," she said, waving at the men behind her.

There was a chorus of "good nights" as the three left the room.


	6. Chapter 6

**Warning! There's quite a bit of bad language in this chapter. **

They ended up in Pepper's room. It was tastefully decorated, tans and creams with red accents that Katie suspected Tony had had a hand in choosing. They sat and giggled, Natasha and Pepper painting all of Katie's fingernails. Katie felt so happy she could burst, but didn't say anything; in her experience, the moment you admitted you were happy was the moment it all fell apart. They were just starting on Natasha's toenails when the yelling began down the hall.

Yelling in itself was nothing new; the guys had been hooting and hollering for the last hour as they had duked it out over videogames and too much sugar. But this yelling was different, with a new, female voice and another, much lower man's voice. Natasha happened to be looking at Katie when it started and could see the blood drain from the girl's face, putting the black eye in stark contrast to her pale skin.

"Katie?" She asked, a question in a question. She really wanted to know if Katie needed her to beat someone up for her, but assumed that wouldn't go over well. Katie stood, as if in a trance, and walked towards the door, Pepper and Natasha following behind as the voices increased in pitch and intensity.

Now that they're in the hallway, they could hear Tony answering back, not yelling, but with the absolute calm that meant he was _very_ angry. They rounded the corner and the whole scene became clear.

A woman who was clearly Katie's mother was standing in the middle of the room, facing off against Tony, leaning in so she was only a few inches from his face. Pepper winced because she knew that had to be making him uncomfortable, but he didn't waver. Behind Tony and Katie's mother stood Bruce and a massive, black-haired man, respectively. Natasha could feel Katie curling in on herself, hunching her shoulders, ducking her head, crossing her arms and making herself a smaller target in general.

The woman didn't look over at them, didn't know that her daughter was in the room. She kept yelling. "- stole my daughter away, you bastard, you stuck up, rich, son of a bitch, you took her." She looked like she wanted to spit in Tony's face, sneering, but didn't. "You really want the little slut? Then take her, get her out of my hands, I never want to see her smug little whoring face again, take her, you fucking bastard. But how dare you do it without asking!"

Tony didn't step back. "Ma'am," he asked icily.

"_Ma'am? _Oh, aren't we well mannered?" She retorted mockingly.

"Ma'am, I am willing to take charge of your daughter. She will no longer live with you. She will stay here. You will have no contact with her. You will sign paperwork that states that I, Tony Stark, am her legal guardian until she is eighteen."

Katie's mother seemed slightly taken aback by the offer; clearly she had expected Tony to deny everything, perhaps even that Katie was there. "And what if I say no?"

Tony kept his voice light. "Well, it is, of course, entirely up to Katie herself, but if you say no and she says no, then she will go with you. If you say no and she wishes to remain here, well..." His tone dropped, and he leaned in slightly. "I will make sure you don't have a moment of peace until you agree with us. Do you understand?"

Her chest heaving with rampant emotion, the woman jammed a finger into Tony's chest. Katie saw Pepper wince, but there was no display of emotion, pain or otherwise on Tony's serious face. "Do I understand? _Do I understand? _I understand that you are trying to blackmail me into giving you my child!"

"Your child. The child you so clearly care about and love deeply." Tony sighed. "JARVIS, bring up the cam film." The television turned on, and while the image focused, Tony added, "And no, I am not technically blackmailing you, since there is no money involved at the moment. It will be completely legal, and you will have to sign a nondisclosure agreement that states you will never speak of any of this again."

"You have no proof! I love my daughter!" Katie's mother seemed to notice her daughter standing in the doorway for the first time. Her entire demeanor changed, a sickeningly sweet smile spreading over her face. "Katie, love, come here and say hello to your mother, darling!"

Katie didn't move for a moment, then she took a deep breath and walked until she was standing a few feet from her mother. "What were you saying, Mr Stark? About how I don't love my child?"

Tony made a small gesture and the image on the screen started to play. It was security footage, grainy, from a store camera. Despite the low quality of the film, the woman, girl, and man on the screen were certainly Katie, her mother, and another man. The man said something, the woman laughed, and without any warning turned around and slapped the girl.

Katie's hand instinctively flew up to her cheek where the slap had landed weeks ago. It had stung, but mostly because there had been no reason behind it. It was just because.

"_That _is what I was saying." Tony smiled, wolflike. "So let me sum up your options. First, you say no. If Katie also says no, then you go on your merry way. If she says yes and you say no, you will never have a happy moment until you also say yes. If you say yes and she says no, then we'll find a way to work with it. If you both say yes, then you will sign a nondisclosure agreement, we will take charge of Katie, and you will never worry about it again."

Katie's mother worked the muscle in her jaw for a moment. "What if I say yes, then go to the press?"

"I would be willing to provide some light compensation for the privilege of watching your daughter as an incentive. But apparently you also don't understand the phrase 'you'll never have a peaceful moment.'" Bruce let out a short laugh, drawing Katie's Mother's attention.

Bruce spoke up. "The last person he told that to no longer has a credit score and none of their electronics will ever work again."

Katie's mother seemed to go white with rage. "How much money?"

Tony waved a hand dismissively. "I'm sure the sum doesn't matter. Yes or no, first?"

Katie took a moment to realize that her mother and her boyfriend were looking at her, along with everyone else. Her eye throbbed, and she thought.

She didn't know these people. She'd only met three of them today. And what about Thor? What if they all decided they hated her? Katie took a breath and stopped the idea dead in its tracks. As scary as it was, she trusted them already, more than she trusted her mother and her string of boyfriends. Her mother, who had hated her since her father died, who had hit her with words and fists and was even now ready to give her girl away for the right price, who had never once told her that she was loved and wanted.

Katie nodded. "I'll stay." Tony smiled. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Pepper beaming.

Suddenly, her head was ringing and she was on the floor. Her mother had slapped her, catching her already black eye with enough force to knock her over. She saw Steve and Bruce both take steps forwards, but Tony held up a hand.

"You ungrateful little..."

Tony cut her off. "So, Mrs Wolfe, what will it be? Yes, or no?"

Her mother bared her teeth. "Give me the form." Pepper came over and handed Tony a paper that had just printed out of the wall.

Tony held it out. "Standard. You are not allowed to talk about what has happened in this room, nor are you allowed to tell a perversion of it. If you insinuate even in the slightest way that we are in the wrong to any source, I will find out, your money will stop coming, and I will publicly sue you for every penny you own. And my lawyers always win. You, in signing this, agree to the transfer of guardianship of one Katie Wolfe and all that guardianship entails until her eighteenth birthday, when she can choose where she wants to live."

Snatching it, Mrs Wolfe scrawled her name on the bottom, Tony following. Bruce and (very reluctantly) the boyfriend signed as witnesses. "Now if you'll go, Mrs Wolfe, a few of us will be by tomorrow to pick up Katie's things and negotiate the terms of settlement."

Her mother turned toward where Katie was still lying on the ground. Her mother spit near her on the floor and glared, then turned on her heel and walked into the waiting elevator, the burly man close behind.

Katie curled in on herself on the floor, and it took a moment for the Avengers to realize that she was crying. Tony took a few quick steps over to her, scooping her up as if she weighed nothing at all (a sentiment that Tony seemed to disapprove of, based on his expression). He nodded down the hallway towards the bedroom and Pepper went ahead of him to open the door, the rest following.

Tony sat down on the bed, holding onto the young girl as she cried her fear and sadness and heartbreak and happiness and guilt.

**Thanks so much for the reviews, everyone! I love them and they make my day!**

**Ahhh the confrontation. This was hard to write, because aside from my own reading, I have no reference; both my parents are good, loving people.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm SO sorry. I've been trying to update this and Points in Time and a new story for a while, but there was something wrong with my account and it wouldn't let me submit documents.**

**Here it is, finally.**

The next morning, Katie woke up alone in a huge room. The bed itself was the size of her "room" at the apartment complex and covered in blankets. The room it was in was moderately sized, with about three times as much floor space as the bed took up. It took her a moment to place where she was, but when it hit her, it struck with so much force that she nearly fell off the plush mattress.

This was Stark Towers, the room where she had changed earlier. If memory served, apparently this is where she would be living from now on. Cautiously, she got out of the bed, wincing at the twinges in her face from her previous black eye and where her mother had slapped her.

Her mother had slapped her. In front of the Avengers. She felt herself turning red with shame; usually, her mother only hit her at home, or when there was no one around. But to do it in a room with most of the world's mightiest heroes! She really had to be crazy, at least crazier than usual.

Timidly, Katie opened the door to the bathroom and turned on the shower, opening cabinets at random until she found a towel. Stripping, she avoided the mirror, knowing that the whole left side of her face had to be bruised from the black eye and her mother's slap. The hot water in the shower soothed her muscles, which were sore from laying in an awkward position and crying for... a long time.

It wasn't really that she was sad, she thought as she cleaned up. It was just years and years of emotions that hadn't been let out yet, years of sadness and anger and pain and now happiness and guilt that she was happy because she was free. Katie was free from her mother at last and now she didn't know what to do with herself.

She turned the water off, wrapping herself in a towel and shoving her long wet hair down her back. The weight of the water worked out the curl, but she knew it would pop back into its normal state as soon as it dried. There was, to her surprise, a small stack of clothing that someone (she hoped Pepper or Natasha) had brought into the room while she was showering. A new pair of jeans, a bra and underwear, a clean green t-shirt that was the color of her eyes.

Dressing, she stood in front of the mirror and looked at herself. Medium height, too skinny, half her face taken up by a black eye and a hand-shaped bruise. Hair sticking out all over her head. She sighed and struggled to scoop it into a ponytail.

Then she took a deep breath and walked out to face the Avengers.

To her surprise, Steve and Bruce were the only ones in the kitchen.

"Morning, Katie," Bruce cheerfully greeted her, flipping a pancake over on the griddle. Steve gave her a nod and a smile, his mouth already full of food. He was wearing a white t-shirt and jeans, but his hair was damp; he must have gone for a run early before coming back and showering. The morning workout would also explain the speed with which he was eating breakfast.

"What time is it?" Katie asked. She hadn't thought of it, but she hadn't seen a clock yet today either.

"JARVIS?" Bruce asked.

"It is currently 8:04 in the morning," the crisp voice said. "And may I express my delight at your continued stay in the Tower, Miss Wolfe?"

"Erm... Thank you, JARVIS?" Katie replied hesitantly.

"You are welcome. Feel free to ask me if you have any questions. If you would just scan your palm into the system -" a nearby tabletop flashed to show her where " - you will have resident access to the tower."

Katie did as instructed, letting the AI scan both of her hands. Bruce slid a plate of pancakes and bacon across the table and she began to eat with enthusiasm; it smelled amazing, and she almost never got to eat breakfast.

Bruce was watching her, with a look on her face that she couldn't quite identify. He didn't say anything, though, just slid a few more cakes on her plate when she finished and poured another round on the griddle. Steve finished eating a few moments later, thanked Bruce, loaded his plate in the dishwasher, and left with a wave and a duffel bag.

Katie looked at Bruce with a mouth full of pancakes and a questioning look. "He's going to SHIELD." He answered the nonverbal question. "Technically, Steve, Clint, and Natasha work there. I work here, at Stark Industries Research and Development but spend some time in Africa and India with Doctors Without Borders. Tony works here, obviously. He's not CEO anymore, (that's Pepper, since the palladium incident) but he still owns SI. Plus he has his own labs and workshops. Pepper's office is ten floors down, the highest non-residential level." Bruce summarized for her.

She nodded her understanding and cleared her throat to ask, "What do they do at SHIELD?"

Bruce laughed. "You're probably going to have to sign a nondisclosure until Director Fury trusts you, or at least until he realizes we trust you. By the end of the week, just by living here, you'll probably have more information about SHIELD than some reporters gather in a lifetime."

Eyes wide, Katie nodded. She hadn't realized how much faith Tony had put in her by opening the tower for her. Bruce continued. "Natasha and Clint are technically spies and assassins - they're Strike Team Alpha. Steve works as Captain America, but also goes on missions, since he's a super soldier and a good man to have at your back in a crisis. Sometimes they do missions together."

" - and sometimes they can't even tell us what they do."

Pepper entered the room, politely ignoring Katie's jump at the unexpected voice. She accepted a plate of pancakes and a cup of coffee from Bruce and slid onto the chair next to Katie. "Good morning, Katie. Clothing okay?"

Katie nodded, looking down. It was hard to accept the new clothing. She had spent her whole life going without clothing and gifts and new things, and it was strange and a little scary to suddenly have people giving her outfits and lots of hot food and "good mornings."

"Thank you," she whispered.

"No problem, kiddo. I've got a full day today, but tomorrow you and me can go shopping. And Natasha if she wants."

She nodded, a little embarrassed. Katie finished her second plate of pancakes and stood to wash her plate in the sink. Bruce directed her to the dishwasher and she blushed pink again She'd never used a dishwasher before. Retrieving her backpack from where it still leaned against the wall, Katie slid her books onto the table. Sorting through them, she frowned, realizing that half the ones she needed were at the apartment.

Life was so complicated. With a sigh, Katie slid most of the books and her music folders down the counter, leaving her maths text and notebook in front of her, calculator to the side. After searching for a moment, she gave up and turned to Pepper, who was finishing up her breakfast. "Do you have a pencil? I can't find one anywhere." Pepper smiled and rummaged around in a drawer, handing Katie a mechanical pencil.

Katie thanked her and started copying down problems.

"Calculus, huh?" Bruce fondly stared at the textbook. "Some of my favorite math." Katie sent him a half disbelieving, half teasingly angry look and crumpled up a piece of paper to throw at him. He ducked it, fending her off with a wooden spoon.

Pepper finished breakfast and left with a wave. She and Bruce worked in silence; Bruce washing the batter pot and wiping down the heated section of counter that he had been using to cook the pancakes, Katie working through her calculus.

Nearly half an hour later, Tony finally staggered into the kitchen, hair mussed. "Morning, Tony." Bruce slid the last plate of breakfast food over to the engineer and poured him a cup of coffee, grinning at Katie. "Tony is not a morning person."

Tony glared at Bruce but it didn't exactly carry a lot of weight since he was half slumped over the counter and holding his coffee cup like it was the last liquid on earth and he was dying of thirst.

Smiling, Katie finished her last problem and closed the book. "Can I just... look around the tower?" She asked hesitantly. Tony nodded.

"If you get lost, just ask JARVIS. I'll be in the lab, and Bruce..." Tony looked at his technical partner.

"I'll be in the lab, too." Bruce confirmed. "There's food in the kitchen, if you're hungry or whatever at lunch time. We'll have team dinner, since it's the weekend."

Katie nodded, a little overwhelmed, again, at the amount of food in the tower and the willingness of everyone to give her time and food and conversation.


End file.
